10 Tips to Start Memorizing Scripture

                                      

A 75-year-old woman was constrained to a hospital bed after breaking her back. When a good friend of hers, a missionary, was home on furlough, he visited her in the hospital. She confided in him that she felt aimless because God had no purpose for her in the hospital. In response, the missionary asked her what she had been doing for God lately.

The nerve! She couldn’t move, had cables attached to all sides of her body, and he expected her to do something? He reminded her that even though her body was unusable, her mind wasn’t. He challenged her to memorize God’s Word, so it would be there when she couldn’t pick up a Bible and read. She took him up on his challenge with Psalm 1 and by the time she was released, she had close to the whole book of Psalms committed to memory.

Over 20 years later, the missionary visited her again, and was amazed by the sharpness of her mind. Even more so, he was impressed with her unmistakably deep relationship with God. Then she told him her secret: she never stopped memorizing. She had almost half of the Bible hidden in her heart.

Why Memorize Scripture?

The most common challenge to memorizing Scripture is the accessibility of the Bible. The typical Christian home has multiple copies on their bookshelves. People can download the free apps on their phones, and buy them pocket-sized online or at Christian bookstores. While it is a blessing to have the Bible at our fingertips, we can take it for granted and diminish its worth as commonplace. Keeping Scripture not only in our hands, but in our hearts, is a way to cherish God’s Word—creating the opportunity to meditate on truth and rest in his presence.

Psalm 119 stresses the importance of Bible memorization. Verse 114 reads, “You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.” Scripture gives us endurance to withstand temptation. When we fill our minds with the Word of God, we mentally and spiritually build a barrier between ourselves and the enemy. Imagine each verse as a brick. The more verses you commit to memory, the higher and stronger that wall against the enemy grows.

In Matthew 4, Jesus used Scripture to stand firm against temptation in the desert. He didn’t pull out his pocket Torah and leaf through it until he found the verses he needed. He had them hidden away in his mind, ready to use when he needed it most. The relationship between the human mind and the Word of God is powerful: during dark times, the Holy Spirit calls out these memorized verses to bring you wisdom, strength, and hope.

Memorizing Scripture has emotional benefits, as well. Psalm 119:143 explains, “Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands give me delight.” I know people who have found solace in quoting Scripture, especially in the darkest of valleys, and I’ve lived this reality in combating depression and anxiety in my own life. When these enemies pounce, quoting passages about God’s love, power, and authority brings assurance and peace to my mind.

Myths about Memorizing

Misconceptions abound about memorizing Scriptures. Take these three myths, for example:

Myth 1: I can’t memorize.

If you’re hearing yourself think this, take this three-question quiz:

    Say your home address.

    Write down the synopsis of your favorite movie.

    Give directions from your home to the closest gas station.

If you could do this without looking up the answers, you can memorize. Just as your address is split into short sections, verses are segmented by punctuation. A good example is Matthew 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” See? Two short sections. In many respects, memorizing Scripture is no different than memorizing any one of the items above. The more familiar you become with a verse—the way you’re familiar with your address, favorite movie, and directions to local hotspots—the deeper it’s etched into your mind.

Myth 2: I’m too old to memorize.

God doesn’t retire people when they reach “old age.” Take Moses, for example. Do you remember how old he was when God called him? No, not late 30slike you see in The Prince of Egypt. Not even 60-something like in The Ten Commandments. According to the Bible, he was 80. At the burning bush, God took an elderly outlaw with a speech impediment who spent his time with stinky sheep and convinced him to guide Israel across the desert for the next 40 years. If God can do that with Moses, then God can do untold things through you—regardless of your age.

Moreover, memorizing Scripture helps improve working memory. In 2006, the Journal of the American Medical Association released a study revealing that seniors who underwent memory training benefited, even for years after.

Myth 3: I don’t have enough time.

Nobody thinks they do, but the fact is there are ways to incorporate memorization into our busy schedules. Be intentional and strategic with how you use your time. Make use of wait times like when you’re waiting in line at the grocery store or waiting for your food at a restaurant.

10 Tips to Get Started

Contrary to popular opinion, people who memorize regularly are not “super Christians” with photographic memory. Instead, they have simply learned ways to make the challenge fun and simple. Below are 10 tried-and-true memory strategies.

1. Start with passages you’re already familiar with.

2. Write the verse on one side of an index card and the verse reference on the other. Carry the card around with you so you can work on memorizing it during wait times.

3. Record yourself reading the verses. Listen and follow along while you’re driving, working out, or cleaning.

4. Write the first letter of each word in the verse. When you need a hint, look at the letters instead of the full verse.

5. Use the stacking method. Stack small drawings or pictures that represent different keywords in the verse. This can help you visualize the verse, even when you aren’t looking at the pictures.

6. If you learn best when you do something with your hands, shuffle a deck of cards while you quote. The repetitive motion will help you concentrate.

7. Tape your verse to the bathroom mirror and work on it as you shave or fix your hair in the morning.

8. Write the verse by hand. Rewrite the verse over and over, or use hand-lettering and other creative illustrations. Utilizing fine motor skills engages your brain. The more of your brain you can employ while memorizing, the better the information will stick.

9. Memorize for five minutes, and then take a break. This allows your brain to relax after the mental exercise.

10. Set your computer and phone background images to verses. You’ll be surprised by how quickly you have it memorized!

Although Bible memorization can be challenging, it’s vital for anyone interested in growing spiritually. Not only is it commanded in Scripture, but also you’ll be strengthened and be able to benefit others as well. So try it! Choose a verse. Memorize it. When you’re done, share it with three people. After that, choose another verse.

You don’t want to miss the powerful ways God can use this practice in your life.

Written by Angela Cornell

Angela Cornell is a country girl living in central Illinois with her family. She graduated from Bethel College (IN) in 2013 and is a freelance writer.

True Leadership Is Sacrifice, Not Privilege

                                

It is one of the filthiest lies Satan whispers in the ear of our comfortable and entitled generation.

From before we can even remember, we have been indoctrinated, at nearly every turn, with the idea that being “a leader” means getting the gold star. Leadership is a form of recognition, a kind of accomplishment, the path to privilege. Being declared a leader is like winning an award or being identified among the gifted.

Leadership is a form of success. And since you can do whatever you dream, and can achieve whatever you set your mind to, you too can be a leader — at home, at work, in the community, in the church. Why would you settle for anything less? Leadership means privilege, and no generation has considered itself more entitled to privilege than ours.

The Lie About Leadership

The world’s spin on leadership is in the air of our society, felt in the subtext of our adolescence, and reinforced in our public elections. We are swimming in it everywhere we turn. Why follow when you can lead? Why contribute to the glory of another when you can be the chief beneficiary instead?

    “One of the marks of Satan’s influence in a society is leaders lording it over those for whom they are supposed to care.”

As novel and inspiriting as it may seem, it’s a very old deception. From the garden, to the history of Israel, to the Middle Ages, to our innate notions about leadership today, the natural, human, sinful way to think about leadership is to be king of the hill. To view leadership as the ascent to honor and privilege, rather than the descent to attend to the needs of others.

One of the distinct marks of Satan’s influence in a society — evidence that the god of this world is blinding unbelievers en masse — is that leaders lord their leadership over those for whom they are supposed to care. The lie may be as prominent (and embraced) today as it’s ever been, but by no means is it new.

Not Lording It Over

The voice that calls most clearly for the true path of leadership — leadership as sacrifice, not privilege — is Jesus himself. He warned sharply against both the pagan and religious leaders of his day who sought to use their people for their own benefit, rather than serve.

    “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25–28; also Mark 10:42–45)

Jesus summons us to have a distinctly Christian perspective on leadership. And if these words from Jesus on the nature of true leadership weren’t enough, he made it unforgettable, on the night before his death, on his knees with a washbowl and towel in his hand.

    “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” (John 13:14–15)

Sacrifice for Their Joy

The apostle Peter, who led the apostles as first among equals, strikes the same clear note for a distinct vision in the church. Christian pastor-elders are to serve “not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2–3).

    “Christian leadership is fundamentally about giving, not taking.”

For a follower of Jesus, greatness in leadership is not defined by how many you have beneath you, but how consistently and significantly you are led by the Holy Spirit to make personal sacrifices to serve the true needs of others. Christian leadership, as captured by John Piper, is “knowing where God wants people to be and taking the initiative to use God’s methods to get them there in reliance on God’s power.” And taking such initiative is typically another way of saying “sacrifice.” Initiative is personally costly.

What specifically is the good for which faithful leaders will take initiative and make sacrifices? According to the apostle Paul, it is laboring for the joy of those in our charge. “Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith” (2 Corinthians 1:24).

Leadership as Sacrifice

Christian leadership, then, is fundamentally about giving, not taking. Christian leaders are not empty, immature individuals looking to prop themselves up with new privilege. Rather, they are men and women who are secure enough, and mature enough, to empty themselves for the good of others.

    “At the heart of leading is taking initiative we otherwise wouldn’t take and making sacrifices we otherwise wouldn’t make.”

Mark this, husbands and dads, pastors and presidents, the very essence and heart of leadership is taking initiative we otherwise wouldn’t take and making sacrifices we otherwise wouldn’t make, to guide our people somewhere good they otherwise would not have gone. We embrace short-term personal difficulties for long-term corporate gains. We are among those who are learning that life’s greatest joys come not in private comfort and ease, but in choosing what is uncomfortable and hard for the sake of others’ joy. We are learning to find our joy not in the ease of attending to self, but in the toughness of attending to others.

Christian leadership — in the home, the church, and elsewhere — is not for those clawing for honor and recognition, but for those most ready to fall to their knees and be inconvenienced by the needs of others. They are those who, in a sense, have their house sufficiently in order to be able to turn their attention to serving others. Instead of pursuing their own immediate benefit, they are willing to sacrifice for others’ benefit.

Like the Son of Man, we lead not to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45). We die to self so that others might live.

 Written by David Mathis

David Mathis (@davidcmathis) is executive editor for desiringGod.org, pastor at Cities Church in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, and adjunct professor for Bethlehem College & Seminary. He is a husband, father of four, and author of Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines.